Monday, 15 April 2013

Welcome romance author, Allie Boniface...

Hi Allie! Welcome to my site :)

Thrilled to be your first stop of your ongoing tour for your new release, The Promise of Paradise! I wish you all the best with the tour and of course, those all important sales. Hope you enjoy your time with me. Let's get on with the questions!

1)When and why did you decide you wanted to be a published author?

I think even as a little girl, I thought it
would be neat to be a published author someday. But I really seriously started
to pursue it after September 11th. I live about an hour north of NYC, and the
days and weeks after the Twin Tower attacks were some of the saddest I've ever
experienced. But what I took from that experience was that I didn't want to
wait for "someday" to become published, because "someday"
isn't guaranteed for any of us. Early in 2002, I started working on my craft, I
joined 2 writers' groups, and in 2006 I had my first book accepted for
publication by Samhain Publishing.

2)What is the best and worst thing you have learned from an
editor/agent?

The best thing I learned from an editor was
that when someone has faith in you and your writing, you can go far. I once had
an editor tell me "I'll see you on the New York Times best-selling list
someday" and I've never forgotten how wonderful that made me feel. When
someone in the publishing industry is behind you 100%, that makes even the low
points more bearable.

Which brings me to the worst thing I ever learned:
that some people won't like your writing no matter what, and for no clear
reason. Unfortunately, the editor mentioned above left my publisher, and I was
assigned a new editor – and she and I never saw eye to eye. She didn't care for
my work and never contracted it, but could never say why with any specific
reason. From her I learned to be strong and move on.

3)Favourite author/s?

Actually, I have a variety of favorites,
from all genres. I'm currently a fan of John Green (YA), who writes the teenage
voice and the teenage experience brilliantly; Jodi Picoult, who explores
controversial topics and has a beautiful women's fiction voice; Kristan
Higgins, who writes laugh-out-loud, 1st person contemporary romance; and
Stephen King, who writes a suspenseful page-turner like no other. I both enjoy
all these authors and learn from them. I love studying how other authors bring
stories and characters to life!

4)What is your typical day?

Well, I'm a full-time high school English
teacher, so my day starts around 5:30 am with the alarm and extra-strength
coffee!! I teach from 7:30 to 3:00, hit the gym for a Zumba class or go for a
run after school, and then either grade papers or try to write a little at
night. Hubby and I might squeeze in a TV show before bed around 10 or 11, and
then it's up again the next morning for a repeat! I do most of my novel writing
either on the weekends or during the summer.

5)What surprised you the most when you became published?

Whoo! Definitely the amount of work that's
required to promote and market oneself. A publisher will do some of that, but
it's really up to the author to create a presence on social media, to arrange
book signings, to connect with readers, and to get her book and her name in the
public eye. Promotion is never-ending!

6)Do you have a dedicated writing space? What does it look like?

I don't, though I write on my laptop, which
means it goes wherever the mood takes me. In the wintertime, that's most often
on the loveseat in my sunroom, next to the cozy stove. In the summer that's
usually in the dining room. Our house has glass doors/windows along the whole
front side, so I'm blessed with natural light almost all the time.

7)What’s next for you?

I'm so excited that my next full-length
novel, a contemporary romance titled Beacon
of Love, releases this May with Lyrical Press! Here's a sneak peek:

“Wise
ass.” Sophie backed into the street before he could grab her. “I’ll see you
later!” she called. “I think Lon said something about meeting tomorrow morning
and--hey!” She squawked off the last word as Lucas lifted her off the ground
and onto his shoulder.

As
if she was a bag of flour.

Or
a damsel in distress.

Or
his damn cavewoman.

About
a hundred thoughts raced through her mind, and it took all she had to keep them
from coming out in biting words.

“Why
do you have to be so stubborn?” he asked as he carried her back to his truck,
parked in front of the bar. He wasn’t panting, not out of breath in the least,
as if she weighed close to nothing. “If anything happened to you, Lon would
kill me.” With
one hand he opened the passenger side door. Only then did he lower her to a
seat inside the truck. His hands slid down her arms and settled her hips into
place.

Oh
yum. All her scathing thoughts of thirty seconds earlier vanished. She shifted
on the leather. There was room for him on this side of the cab, she was almost
positive. If not, she’d make room. In about two seconds.

The Promise of Paradise

by Allie Boniface

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

Harvard grad
Ashton Kirk is headed for a promising law career when scandal breaks apart her
family. To escape, she changes her name and rents an apartment in the small
town of Paradise, New Hampshire, where no one knows who she is.

Ash hopes for solitude, but all bets are
off when Eddie West, the town’s most eligible bachelor, moves in downstairs.
The sexy auto mechanic loves his women and his cars shiny, sleek, and fast, and
when he meets his new housemate, he wastes no time getting friendly. But Eddie
is nursing his own recent loss, and the last thing he wants to do is let
someone new into his life or his heart.

Can two people from different worlds find
common ground and a place to fall in love? Or will Ashton’s past and Eddie’s
scars keep them apart just as summer heat brings them together? Is it possible
to find your soul mate in the place you least expect?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Near the curb, engine still
running and rock music bellowing from the speakers, idled a red pickup truck.
White and yellow flames danced along both sides. Bending over the tailgate was
a broad, bare, definitely male back. Yow. No wonder Jen looked like she was
about to start drooling. Even one floor up, Ash could trace the outline of
nearly every muscle in his arms and back. A bright red and yellow king cobra
tattoo curled around his left triceps. Wavy brown hair fell across the sides of
his face. His jeans, faded in all the right places, sat low on his hips. Ash
squinted harder and ran one hand over her hair.

Oh God. They still make men who
look like that?

“Turn around, please,” Jen
commanded under her breath. As if he’d heard her, he straightened up, biceps
flexing as he hauled two large boxes from the back of the truck and turned up
into the sidewalk. Her sidewalk. He looked up, and Ash’s heart dove into her
stomach. A neatly trimmed goatee underscored a crooked nose. He flashed a smile
and winked.

“Hey,” he called up. “You live
here?”

Jen nodded and jabbed a thumb in
Ash’s direction. “She does.”

“I’m Eddie West. Movin’ in
today.” It was hard to hear him over the noise of the truck’s humming engine
and the music. Ash watched his mouth move instead.

“Need any help?” Jen asked.

Eddie shook his head. “Nah. I’ve
just got a couple of boxes to bring in. The rest is coming tomorrow. But
thanks.” He continued up the sidewalk.

Jen cupped her hands around her
mouth and yelled down. “Come up later, if you want.”

Ash elbowed her. “What are you
doing?”

Eddie backpedaled and nodded,
grinning wider. As he disappeared from their view, the heavy front door creaked
open and, after a few seconds, thudded shut behind him.

Jen straightened up. “See? I told
you he’d be good-looking.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s beyond good-looking,
Ash.” She fell back against the railing, hands to heart in a dramatic
pantomime. “He’s perfect.”

AUTHOR Bio and
Links:

Allie Boniface is a small-town girl at heart who's traveled around the
world and still finds that the magic and the mystery of small towns make them
the best places to fall in love and find adventure. From the New England coast
to Rocky Mountain hotels to tiny European bars, she's found more character and
plot inspirations than she could ever count. Currently, she's lucky enough to
live in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley with her own "Hometown
Hero," a guy who can fix, build, drive, and grill anything and is the
epitome of the strong and silent type.

When she isn't writing love stories, Allie is a full-time high school
English teacher who gets a kick out of helping her teenagers negotiate the ups
and downs of writing along with the ups and downs of life (because, really,
she's still trying to do the same thing!). And while she'll continue to travel
far and wide, Allie knows there's really nothing like coming back to the place
where the people who have known you forever welcome you home with open
arms.

I applaud you for being a high school English teacher. That's such an important job! We need great English teachers to help foster a love of reading (and writing) in today's teens. It's great that you can also find time in there for your own writing.catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

Hey Allie! I'm a full time English teacher too and I know what you mean about busy schedules! I try to inspire the pupils and a positive response is always rewarding! It's tough to squeeze the writing in too but it's so worth it! Have a great blog tour! :-)

Hello there! What a great blog this is. Some extremely interesting and engaging interviews as well as some very informative and interesting posts. I think I could help to increase your readership if you are interested?I am looking for quality blogs to include into our community of bloggers - glipho.comPlease check us out and drop me a line at hubert@glipho.com for any questions. Best!Hubert